In this issue, I want to attract your attention to a disease called “Thyroid.” It seems women are more at risk. So, what is thyroid exactly?
According to a research study done in the states in February 2000, women are at greater risks of getting thyroid diseases – about 7 times more than men. A woman faces as high as a one in a five chance of developing thyroid problems during her lifetime which increases with age and for those with a family history of thyroid problems.
Thyroid is a small bowtie or butterfly-shaped gland located in your neck, wrapped around the windpipe behind and below the Adam’s Apple area. The thyroid produces several hormones, of which two are key: triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroxin (T4). These hormones help oxygen get into cells, and make your thyroid the master gland of metabolism.
The thyroid has the only cells in the body capable of absorbing iodine. The thyroid takes in iodine, obtained through food, iodized salt, or supplements, and combines it with the amino acid tyrosine. The thyroid then converts the iodine/tyrosine into the hormones T3 and T4. The "3" and the "4" refer to the number of iodine molecules in each thyroid hormone molecules.
When it's in good condition, of the entire hormone produced by your thyroid, 80% will be T4 and 20% T3. T3 is considered the biologically more active hormone -- the one that actually functions at the cellular level – and is also considered several times stronger than T4.
Once released by the thyroid, the T3 and T4 travel through the bloodstream. The purpose is to help cells convert oxygen and calories into energy.
As mentioned, the thyroid produces some T3. But the rest of the T3 needed by the body is actually formed from the mostly inactive T4 by a process sometimes referred to as "T4 to T3 conversion." This conversion of T4 to T3 can take place in some organs other than the thyroid, including the hypothalamus, a part of your brain.
The thyroid is part of a huge feedback process. The hypothalamus in the brain releases Thyrotrophic-releasing Hormone (TRH). The release of TRH tells the pituitary gland to release Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH). This TSH, circulating in your bloodstream, is what tells the thyroid to make thyroid hormones and release them into your bloodstream.
Causes of Thyroid DiseaseWhat causes thyroid problems? There are a variety of factors that can contribute to the development of thyroid problems:
Exposure to radiation, such as occurred after the Chernobyl nuclear accident
Over consumption of isoflavone-intensive soy products, such as soy protein, capsules, and powders
Some drugs, such as lithium and the heart drug cordarone, can cause hypothyroidism.
An over consumption or shortage of iodine in the diet can also trigger some thyroid problems. (This also applies to iodine-containing supplements, such as kelp and bladder wrack.)
Radiation treatment to the head, neck or chest. Radiation treatment for tonsils, adenoids, lymph nodes, thymus gland problems, or acne.
"Nasal Radium Therapy," which took place during the 1940s through 1960s, as a treatment for tonsillitis, colds and other ailments, or as a military submariner and/or pilot who had trouble with drastic changes in pressure
Over consumption of uncooked "goitrogenic" foods, such as brussel sprouts, broccoli, rutabaga, turnips, kohlrabi, radishes, cauliflower, African cassava, millet, babassu, cabbage and kale
Surgical treatments for thyroid cancer, goitre, or nodules, in which all or part of the thyroid is removed, leave you hypothyroid
Radioactive iodine treatment (RAI) for Graves' disease and hyperthyroidism typically leave patients hypothyroid.
You have a higher risk of developing thyroid disease if, among a variety of factors:
…You have a family member with a thyroid problem
…You have another pituitary or endocrine disease
…You or a family member have another autoimmune disease
…You've been diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
…You've been diagnosed with Fibromyalgia
…You're female
…You're over 60
…You've just had a baby
…You're near menopause or menopausal
…You're a smoker
…You've been exposed to radiation
…You've been treated with lithium
…You've been exposed to certain chemicals (i.e., perchlorate, fluoride)
(Adapted from a health website in 2004)
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